Bending machine



J. B. MELTZ.

BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28, 1920.

5 SHEETSSHET 2.

Patented Dc. I2, 1922.

W fijs (Iii 0277 J. B. MELTZ. BENDING MACHINE- APPLICATION FILED DEC.28. I920;

Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

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BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.28. 1920.

1,438,321. I Patented Dec. 12,1922.

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Paten J. B. MELTZ.

BENDI AGHINE.

APPLICATION 02c. 2.8. 1920.

Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

UNITED STATES JULIUS B. MELTZ, OF EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO A.L. SMITH IRON WORKS, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

BENDING MACHINE.

Application filed December 28, 1920. Serial No. 433,628.

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that 1', JULIUs "B. Mnn'rz,citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Everett, in thecounty of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Bending Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to machines or devices for bending flat bars orstrips of sheet material. More particularly the present inventionrelates to mechanism for use in the making of hangers such as arecommonly employed for supporting floor or roof timbers in masonrybuilding construction. Such hangers usually comprise a stirrup of flatbar or strap metal bent to form a bot tom member and two spaced,upwardly extending side members which are substantially parallel one tothe other at points adj acent said bottom. The side members substantiallmidway of their lengths, are twisted in opposite directions whereby tocause their outer ends to lie in planes at right angles to their lowerportions, and at the outer ends of said side members the. metal is bentto form supporting hooks. The making of hangers of the type justreferred to has. so far as is known, been performed heretofore as a handoperation, and as so carried out by hand is slow, laborious, andinaccurate.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a powerdriven mechanism capable of operating in an expeditious and accuratemanner for producing the bends in the strip or bar of sheet metalnecessary for the formation of a hanger, and without requiring theapplication of heat to the bar. As one mode of attaining the desiredobject the machine may be provided with a work support having a flatupper surface terminating in a straight edge. Spaced from such surface,may be an anvil. block having a face making such. an angle with thesupporting surface asit is desired that the two parts of the strip ofmetal assume relatively one to the other and for forcing the strip toconform. to the surface of said block, a member rockable about saidstraight edge of the work support as an axis, may be employed.

For actuating such member, power operated connections may be employed,preferably comprising a one revolution clutch.

As it is desirable that the machine be capable, not only of operatingupon sheet or bar material of different thicknesses, but also that itmay be able to bend the metal to difi erent angles, the machine may beprovided with suitable adjustments for obtaining such desired results.As one method of permitting the machine to operate on metal of differentthicknesses, the block against which the metal is bent may be arrangedfor adjustment toward and from the surface of the WO1( support and ifdesired. for simultaneous adjustment toward and from the edge of thework support. For permitting the machine to bend the material todifferent angles, the anvil block against which the work is pressed orformed, may be made interchangeable so that blocks having faces atdifferent angles may be substituted one for another. Furthermore themechanism whereby the movable forming member is actuated may compriseconnections such, for example as an adjustable cranlcpin whereby thedegree of movement of such movable forming member may be varied. I

A preferred form of mechanism for carrying into effect the above objectsis disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is a planview of the" device.

Figure 2 an end elevation, partly broken away, of the right hand end ofthe machine as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line A-B of Figure 2;

Figure 4: is a transverse vertical cross section substantially on [heline C-D of Figure 1;

Figure 5 transverse vertical section on the line E-F of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a detail elevation of an adjustable crank pin and associatedparts which is e inployed in the driving connections;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail elevation of a slotted crank arm shownin Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a side elevation and Figure 9 an end elevation partly insection of a clutch employed in the machine;

employed in he making Ned.

ure 12. This banner is formed by bending; and twlstln a stri 3 or ofmetal 0 the desired width and thickness.

or supporting portion 0; of

fined b the upwardl eaten in b rials;

"1' a I legs 6, c. The legs Z), c are oppositely tn as at e,frespectively so that their upper portions 9, 1 he 111 planes at r1 "-nles to the lower parts thereof, Th 70, Z, of the legs are a 17 at at m,n, whereby to fol ment with the masonry c an, The hanger thus consructed .t a port the end of a tiinie" rcstin on member 0, and positionedoy the l c. The machine of the present invention .is intended for makingbends at m, it and 0.

Referring; to the drawings for a niiorc dc tailed description of themechanism, 1. is the frame of the machine, cou'iprisi, a hollow castinghaving legs 2 at its wrneis provided with openings 3 by mean of which itmay be bolted to the floor. it ithin the fraaiiic and projecting fromthe rear side thereof, are a series of bearing brackets 5, '6 and at theleft hand end of the frame is a boss 7 Journaled within suitableopenings in the bearing blocks carried by said. biv a and in said bossrespectively, is SllELlu 5 having thereon pair of driven pulleys 9, 10,of different diameters, such pulleys proecting through suitableopeningzgs 1i, respectively in the fran'ie. The iiullsys 9, 1.0 areadapted for engraa ment by a driving belt receiving pow from anysuitable source. By the pro ion. of pulleys oil difit .13 Jssiferentdlameter it is ac b I l shifting the belt from one to the other,to change the speed of the shaft 8. i o. upon the left hand portion ofthe sha'l't 0, between bracket 4 and boss a pinion 1 :1.

PlOjQClilIlil: from the front wall of the casing and on the interiorthereof are bracl zets 14:, 15 supporting beari blocks pro With journalopenings wiich ali journal opening in a boss 16 on the le.- t hand endwall of the casin x Journaled to turn in the bearings carried by bracket15 and boss 16 is a shaft 17 having thereon a gear 13 meshing with gear13, such shaft having secured adjacent its right hand extremity, thedriven element 18 of a clutch device here inafterdescribed in detail.The bearing carried by bracket 14 is cf substantial length and hasjournaled therein the driven shaft 19, such shaft having mounted thereonadjacent its left hand extremity the driven clutch element 20.

At 21 is a brake band of any suitable construction which engages thedriven shaft or an element thereof, whereby to prevent overthrow of suchshaft when the clutch is released.

To the right hand extremity of the shaft 19, as clearly indicated inFigures 6 and 7, is secured a crank arm 22. The crank arm 29 may befixed in position by means of a pair of keys 23 or in any other suitablemanner.

The crank arm is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 2-; whichextends to a point adjacent the free end of such crank arm. 25 is acrank pin having afixed collar or shoulder 26, such crank-pinestendingtl'irough the slot in the crank arm and being; screw tl'iroaded at oneextremity as indicated at 9/7. 28 (see Figure 1) is a yoke having acentral opening; through which passes the crank pin 25, the yoke beinginterposed between the collar 26 and arm The opposite ends of the yokemember are bent at right angles, as indicated at 29, 50 to embrace theopposite edges of the crank arm v V i That side of the crank armopposite that such knurlinp; being produced on each side of the slot24%. 32 is a flat plate having a circular opening for the passage of thecrank pin 25 and having; its opposite ends engageable with the knurledportions of the crankarin. 33 is a nut which engages the threadedportion of the crank-pin 25 and by means of which the plate 32, yoke 28,and the crank-pin may be firmly locked in an adjusted. position on thecrank arm 22. Journaled to turn upon the outer end of the crank-phi 25is a knuckle r. t which is secured thereon by means of a washer 35 and anut 86 engaging; the threaded einity of the crank-pin. l

Secured in a threaded openin s: in the knuckle is a screw threaded pinformed integral with or fixed to the lower end of a. connectii'ig rod38, such rod extend ing upwz u'dly through a suit his opening 39 in theupper surface of the mach" "1Q frame.

lllounted upon the upper suriaii'e of the machine frame abracket device4:0 which may be secured to the main frame of the machine by means ofbolts 4-1, or in any other desired manner. fact such bracket if desiredmay form an integral part of machine frame. [is indicated in Figure {lthe bracket i0 has mounted there-an or integral therewith a member 4L2whose upper surface 43 is substantially flat and horizontal and thusforms a work support or table whereupon material to be bent may beplaced. The rear portion of such member 42 is, as indicated in Figure 4beveled oil at 44 whereby to provide a sharp rear edge at 45. The edge45 is arranged to extend in substantially a straight line transverselyof the work 1 oke member havin" spaced arms 54. y

which lie upon opposite sides of the lever arm 49. The pin 51 passesthrough suitable openings in the arms 53 and. 54 and is held againstdisengagement therefrom by means of cotter pins 55.

The yoke member 52 is provided at its lower extremity with an internallyscrew threaded bore with. which engages a screw threaded extension 56projecting upwardly from the connecting rod 38. The connectingrod. byreason of its screw threaded extensions 37 and 56, is variable inlength, thus permitting the proper adjustment of the several parts insetting the machine in position for use.

60 is a bracket secured upon the upper surface of the machine frame. asby means of bolts 61, such bracket being located just to the left of thework supporting table.

The bracket 60 comprises a frame or housing having on its interiorsurface the upwardly and forwardly extending guide ways 62 and 63. Asshown herein, such guide ways are inclined at an angle of substantially45 degrees to the horizontal, and are substantially parallel. In thepreferred form of this device, one side and bottom wall of the guideways may be integral with the frame while the opposite side wallsthereof are formed by removable plates 64 and 65 respectively, suchplates being secured to the frame or housing by screws or bolts.

The housing is provided. with a boss 66 having a journal openingtherethrough in which the shaft 47 may turn, such shaft ex tending tothe right of the housing; as clearly indicated in Figure 1. At pointoppo-- site the rear edge of the work table, and extending a substantialdistance to the right thereof, the shaft 47 is slabbed off to providesubstantially flat surfaces 67 and 68 respectively. As the axis of theshaft 47 is arranged substantially coincident with the rear edge 45 ofthe work table it is evi dent that when the shaft 47 is properlypositioned, the flat surface 6? hereof will form a substantialcontinuation of the flat upper surface 43 of the work table lying in theplane thereof. lVhen in this position, the other flat surface 68 of theshaft engages the bevel surface at the rear of'the work table, thelatter suriace thus serting as a stop to limit the turning of the shaft47 in a clock-wise direction as seen in Fig ures 2 and 4.

Mounted for sliding movement in the guide ways 62 and 63 is a platemember 69 said plate having an elongated opening 70 through which passesthe shaft 47. The frame or housing carried by the bracket 60; isprovided with a transversely extending member *1 overlying the upperedge of the plate 69; 72, 73 a e a pair of adjustable stop screws orbolts which engage threaded openings in the transverse member 71 ainl bymeans of which the upward movement of the plate al its guide ways belimited; "(4 is rod secured to the plate 69 and extending freely throughan opening in the transverse member 71. such rod being screw tl'ircadedas at 75, adjacent its upper extremity. t lurrounding the rod 74 andresting upon the outer surface of the member 71 is a coil spring; ((3enclosingwhich is a sleeve 77. 78 is a washer sur rounding the rod 74and held in place by a nut 75- such washer bear-i against the outer endof the sleeve. Between the washer 7'8 and the upper end of the spring 76is interposed a bushing; El although the sp 'n may be permitted to restrheotly a the washer if desired. l i ith the rransgc ment iustdescribed, it will be evident that the tendency of the spring; 76 is tolift the plate 69 upwardly alone; its guide ways. but that such movementis adjuiiital'ily limited by means of the stop screws 79. and 7Projecting from the right hand face of the plate 69 is the work lmldiuand ferns ing member or anvil 5%]. This anvil consists of block integralwith or fixedly scoured to the plate such block being provided with alower surrace 82 which lies substantially parallel to the upper surface43 of the work Ehich lo 82 together with the er table form a positionining means whereby erly supported dur' tion. As he n dmclosed the bloci;91.. is also provided it? .1 the forming surface arranged substantiallyat t angles o the surface 8:2 and thus l" perpcndicw lar to the upper ofthe work. table. For bcndin at other than right angle. the to surface 83of the block may be arranged to make suchv an angle with the surface 82as it is doc :ed to have the parts of the work assume after bending.When a block having its surface 10: the bendin Y inoat right angles isemployed and the guide ways are arranged as above described it is clearthat when its lower position of adjustment, the lower right hand angleof the block will coincide with the rear 4&5 of the work table. it willalso be clear that upon movement of the plate 60 upwardly along itsguide ways, the surfaces 82 and. of the anvil-block will movesimultaneously to equal distances from the surface 13 of the work tableand from the vertical plane passing through the edge 1-5 respectively.Thus in accordance with the thickness of the work, the anvil-block maybe properly positioned merely by adjusting the screws 72 and 78.

It will be clear that with the parts as shown in Figure 2, a bar orstrip of'material may be placed upon the work table and pushed beneaththe surface 82 until its rear portion overlies the surface 67 of theshaft d7. Upon turning of the crank-arm 22, the lever arm 19 will beactuated and thereby the shaft 4:? will be rocked through a partialrotation. Such rocking of the shaft will carry the surface 0"? intosubstantial parallelism with the surfrce 83 and thus that portion of thework lying to the rear of the edge 13 will be bent upwardly atsubstantially right angles to the main portion thereof. After thebending the work, it may be removed from the machine by sliding it tothe right from off the work table, the slabbed off portions of the shaft417 be ing sufiiciently long to permit of such action. If blocks havingother angles than a right angle are employed, the position of thecrank-pin 25 may be varied whereby to change the effective throw of thecrank 22, thereby varying the angle turning of the shaft 47.

For controlling the operation of the machine the clutch mechanism hereinabove referred to, is interposed in the driving connections. This clutchas above noted comprises the drive element 18 secured to the drive shaft17 as by means of the key 90,

and the driven clutch element 20 which is being secured slidable uponthe shaf -ereto by nst rotation with V The driving viue'd with theshoulder the" shoul of the whereby to impart r therethrough to the 1.7.7 in the member 20 is a circumferential groove 94- with in which grooveengage rollers 95, 96, re spectively, carried by a pair of arms 07, 98,said arms being loos ly mounted upon a shaft 99 journaled in the machineframe. The arms 97 and 98 are each provided with a boss 100, 101,respectively. Such bosses are arranged for engagement by adjustable stopscrews 102, 103, respectively carried by crank arms 104i, 105 fast tothe shaft 99.

moved positively away froi The screws 102, 103 may be secured inadjusted position by means of lock nuts as sector 112 fast upon theshaft 99. A. wedge.

cam 113 is carried by the clutch element 20, having surface 114engageable with the lateral edge of the dog 109. Pivoted at the.

point 115 on the front sire of the machine frame is a treadle lever 116having afoot engaging part 117. 118 is a spring having one end securedto the treadle lever and having its 'oppositeend fastened to a bracket119 fired to the frame. Secured to the left hand end of the treadlelever, as by means of a pivot pin 120 is a linlr121 having. its otherend pivoted to the right hand extremity of a! crank arm 123 fast/to theforward end of the shaft 99.

In the operation of the parts just described; it being assumed that thecrank 22 normally occupies the position shown in Figure 2 and that theclutch elements normally stand. in the position shown in Figure 8, theoperator having inserted the work in position. to bebent, will step uponthe treadle 11'? thereby swinging the shaft 99 and through the action ofthe sector 112 mov ing the dog downwardly and out of engage mentwith thecam surface 11%. As the treadle is further depressed the arms 10 1- 105will be moved upwardly wherebyto cause engagement of the screws 102,103with the hos s 100, 101. The arms 9798 will thus be moved to slide themember 20 longitudinally of the shaft, thereby pressing the surfaces 92and 93 into operative engagement.

' Upon removing the foot from the trea-dle, the spring 118 immediatelyturns the shaft 99 in a clock-wise direction, thereby swinging the arms104i, 105 downwardly and away from the arms 97, 98. At the same time,the sector 112 raises the rack bar 110 so that its upper end 109 lies inthe path of the cam surface 1.1 1 as the member "2-0 revolves. Uponengagement of the surface 11 1 with the member- 10 9, the clutch element20 is element 18, thus disconnecting the shafts 1? and 19"and bringingthe 19 to rest after a singlereleases the material and permits its readyremoval from the machine.

WVhile the mechanism above described is re garded as a preferredembodiment of the in vention herein disclosed it is clear that variouschanges and modifications may be made therein and that additions theretomay be made without in any manner departing from the spirit of thepresent invention.

Having thus described the invention in a preferred embodiment of thesame together with the mode of operation thereof, what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

1. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a work table having asupporting surface terminating in a substantially straight edge, a workholding block guided for movement in a path oblique to said surface,spring means normally tending to lift said block and a plurality ofadjustable stop screws for limiting such upward movement.

2. A. machine of the class described comprising a work table having asupporting surface terminating in a substantially 1 strai ht ed e ablock havin a work en a 2': b 7 C: b b

ing surface, a fixed frame providing guide means engaging said blockwhereby to guide the same for movement in an oblique path toward andfrom said edge, means continually tending to move said block away fromsaid edge, and means for adjustably limiting such movement.

3. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a work supportterminating in a substantially straight edge, a guide block having workengaging surfaces meeting to form an angle, means for guiding said blockfor movement along a line intersecting said edge and bisecting saidangle, and means continually tending to move said block away from saidedge.

4:. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a work table havinga substantially plane surface, guide means inclined at an acute angle tosaid surface, a block slidably guided by said guide means for movementtoward and from said surface, spring means normally tending to lift saidblock away from said surface, and adjustable stop means for limiting themovement of said block away from said surface.

5. In combination, a work support having a substantially flat uppersurface terminating in a straight edge, a fixed frame providing guidesarranged to form an angle of substantially 45 with said surface, a blockslidable in said guides toward and from said surface, said block havingone surface substantially parallel to the upper surface of the table andan intersecting surface perpendicular thereto, a rod secured to saidblock and passing through said frame, a spring engaging a stop carriedby said rod whereby normally to lift said block, a stop screw adjustablymounted in the frame for engaging said block to limit its upwardmovement, and a bending element mounted for swinging movement on a shafthaving its axis substantially coincident with be straight edge of saidsupport for disposing the work against the perpendicular surface of saidblock.

6. A machine for bending metal comprising a holder comprising aninterchangeable work engaging biock, a movable bending elementcooperable with said block for forming the metal between the same andsaid block, and means for moving said bending element, said meanscomprising adjustable connections whereby the amount of movement of saidelement may be varied.

7. In combination, in a machine of the class described, a rockablebending element and means for rocking said element comprising a powershaft, a slotted crank arm thereon, a crank pin adjustable along theslot of said arm, a yoke member provided with an opening for the passageof said crank pin and with members engageable with the lateral edges ofsaid crank arm, and means for fixing said pin and yoke member inadjusted position.

8. In a machine for bending sheet material, a bending element, a powershaftand connections between said shaft and element for actuating thelatter, said connections comprising a slotted crank arm fast to saidshaft, a yoke member provided with a central opening and having earsengaging the edges of said crank arm, a shouldered crank pin passingthrough said opening and the slot in the crank arm, a plate having acentral opening for the passage of said pin and engaging said arm uponopposite sides of its slot, and a nut engageable with screw threads onsaid pin for clamping the several parts in adjusted position.

9,. in a metal bending machine, a bending element carried by a shaftjournaled for rocking movement, drive shaft, and adjustable connectionsbetween said shafts comprising a slotted crank arm fast on the driveshaft, one face of said arm being knurled at opposite sides of saidslot, a crank pin slidable in said slot, a plate having an opening forsaid pin and engageable at its opposite ends with said knurled portionsof the crank arm, and means for clamping said plate in adjustedposition.

10. A bending machine comprising a rock able bending element, a leverarm for moving the same, a drive shaft, means for turning said shaftincluding a one revolution clutch, a crank arm fast to said drive shaft,said crank arm being of lesser length than said lever arm, and aconnecting rod for transmitting movement from the former to the latter.

-11. A machine for bending sheet material comprising a Work supporthaving a suha foot treadle for controlling said clutch, stantiallystraight edge, a rock shaft jourand connections between said driveshaft. 10 naled to turn about an axis substantially and said rock shaftwhereby a Complete r0 coincident With said edge, said shaft havingtation of the drive shaft serves to turn said a slabhed ofl portionnormally "forming a rock shaft through a predetermined angle.continuation of said Work support, a drive Signed by me at BOstOnMaSSaeIiusetts, shaft, a power shaft, a one revolution clutch this 24thday of December 1920. I

interposed between said last named shafts, JULIUS B. MELTZ.

